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PNS Daily Newscast - February 22, 2018

President Trump holds a listening session at the White House as the demand for action to curb gun violence spreads across the nation; also on today's rundown; an Arizona ballot initiative would require 50 percent renewable energy by the year 2030; and a new report find local democracy is being "run-over" by Lyft and Uber.

Williams was convicted in the 1998 stabbing death of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle. Recently tested DNA on the knife cited as the murder weapon did not match Williams' DNA, according to his attorneys.

Tricia Bushnell, director of the Midwest Innocence Project, the group that wrote to the governor asking for the stay, described her current state of mind as "pleased and grateful; that Gov. Greitens has both issued a stay and appointed a Board of Inquiry, is really showing a commitment to justice and to open process."

Williams, 48, was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday evening. State Attorney General Josh Hawley had argued that there was enough non-DNA evidence to uphold Williams' conviction.

Bushnell said there's no clear indication how long it will take an advisory board to review the DNA evidence. The state's case relied primarily on two witnesses she described as having incentive to believe they would benefit by pointing a finger at Williams. Too often in murder cases, Bushnell said, finality is prioritized over fairness.

"There is this myth that people get out on technicalities, but the reality is, technicalities keep people in," she said. "You're not even allowed to get into court. And as we saw here with Mr. Williams, he had this evidence and no one would even hear it."

In his stay order, the governor said simply, "To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt. In light of new information, I am appointing a Board of Inquiry in this case."